Britain’s worst day yet in coronavirus crisis with 708 dead

Five-year-old child becomes Britain’s youngest victim as nation suffers worst day yet in coronavirus crisis with 708 dead including 40 with no underlying health conditions to take total to 4,313 but infections are stabilizing says, government expert

A five-year-old child who had underlying health issues is the youngest victim to die with the coronavirus in Britain, as a further 708 people who tested positive for the disease also died today.

Today’s record jump in fatalities brings the UK’s death toll to 4,313, while the number of new UK infections rose by 3,735 to 41,903 – the smallest 24-hour increase of cases in four days.

NHS England national medical director Stephen Powis told the No10 press briefing this evening that the latest figures suggest the rate of infection had begun to ‘stabilise’ as the number of new cases slowed.

But he warned that there was ‘no room for complacency’ and urged everyone to strictly adhere to lockdown rules, including avoiding flocking to the UK’s parks and beaches this sunny weekend.

Prof Powis said: ‘There is reason to be hopeful that some of the changes we are observing in infections and perhaps in hospitalisations is now reflecting the benefit of the social distancing.

‘It will be a week or two before the measures that are put in place translate into lower hospitalisation rates. But… in London in the last few days there has been a bit of a plateauing in terms of numbers.’

Cabinet Office minister Michael Gove confirmed today that the Midlands has seen the biggest rise in cases at 47 percent, while Yorkshire and the North East have experienced a 35 percent rise.

The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster also revealed that Britain has taken delivery of 300 ventilators from China, while more will start being produced soon by a consortium of aerospace, engineering and F1 teams.

‘We’ve been buying invasive ventilators from partners abroad, including Germany and Switzerland, and today 300 new ventilators arrived from China, I’d like to thank the Chinese Government,’ he said.

Mr Gove also said that the Government is pushing manufacturing companies including Dyson and Rolls-Royce to increase the number of ventilators available for coronavirus sufferers.

He explained: ‘More are coming into production in the coming weeks, subject to safety and regulatory approvals, as part of the Prime Minister’s call to manufacturers to scale up production.’

The increase in admissions is sparking fears raised earlier this month that regional hospitals could see a surge in admissions similar to that seen in London, the epidemic of the UK’s coronavirus outbreak.